Technological/sociopolitical index

The Technological/Sociopolitical Index was an overall assessment of a planet and its inhabitants, covering its scientific, engineering, social, economic and political achievements, developed by the Federation.

It was divided into two parts: the Technological Index and the Sociopolitical Index. Each covered a number of areas, as worlds and races could develop in different areas at different rates, becoming advanced in one area while knowing little about another.

A Technological/Sociopolitical Index followed the format "abcdef-gh", with a digit or capital letter in each place to represented development in a scientific, technology, or social field. A 0 represented absolutely no development, while a 9 indicated the absolute highest level of development in that area known to Federation science at the time that the Index was adopted. Intermediate numbers represented proportions in between the two. It represented wide-spread adoption; research could begin into elements of the next classification while still in the previous one. If a civilization had gone beyond Federation capabilities in some way, it was marked by a letter; an A was equivalent to a 10, and so on.

The Cultural Attitude Index was different in that it had no alphabetical rating. Instead, it was circular: a 9 was followed by a 0, representing Anarchy. This stood for no form of enforced or codified cooperation between individuals, appearing in both very primitive cultures and in very advanced cultures where individuals no longer needed to cooperate with one another. Cultures could move up or down the scale, and there was no correlation with space-flight or Federation membership.

Alphabetic ratings, standing for development beyond Federation understand or capability, were a later development. These were added in the late 23rd century after contact with advanced races such as the Metrons and the Organians, though developments within the Federation could also lead to alphabetical ratings. The Federation Science Council determined new alphabetic ratings as required.

In the late 23rd century, Terra was conducting wide-spread experimentation in large-scale organ regeneration. A significant breakthrough would make it the most advanced planet in the Federation in the Life/Medical Sciences, earning it an A. (FASA RPGmodule: Game Operations Manual)